


Keep the Magic Secret

by firewolfsg



Category: Merlin (BBC)
Genre: M/M, Non Consensual
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-03-21
Updated: 2010-03-21
Packaged: 2017-10-08 04:30:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,207
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/72715
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/firewolfsg/pseuds/firewolfsg
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Uther comes to a realisation about his son's manservant, but he also recognises that he's not ungrateful.</p><p>Spoilers: Season 1, particularly 1x04 The Poisoned Chalice and 1x13 The Questing Beast</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Keep the Magic Secret

**Author's Note:**

> Author's Notes: Based on [Endurance Test](http://community.livejournal.com/merlinxarthur/356919.html) and [The Greatest Healer](http://community.livejournal.com/merlinxarthur/473843.html) by LJ user: ravenflight21. Written with ravenflight21's permission and beta'd by ravenflight21.
> 
> (Originally posted March 2009)

"The entire camp? Are you sure?" Uther locked eyes with the reporting knight firmly.

Sir Kay gulped at the fierce scrutiny, but he did not fumble in his certainty. "When we realized the silence was unnatural, we entered the camp to investigate, my lord.

"Our—what was left of our men had been left to the elements, but every man and boy of the barbarian camp—lay dead—burnt to a crisp. It—the camp was left quite intact. None had dared approach the encampment to loot it for fear of—the sorcerer who decimated it."

Uther came to his feet and moved to the window which overlooked the courtyard. As luck would have it, he was at the window in time to watch his son and his manservant returning from a ride to the woods. Uther couldn't help the soft sigh of relief which escaped his lips to see his son starting to smile again. However, the manservant was another matter altogether.

'Sorcerer.' The thought flared in red hot fury. But strangely, Uther didn't find himself reacting immediately. Instead, other thoughts and memories smothered the fear and hate he had always carried in his heart since Igraine was untimely taken from him.

'Merlin.' This manservant of Arthur's… Uther wasn't blind. Now that the veil of secrets had been lifted, he was not so ungrateful that he'd fail to acknowledge the truth. If it weren't for Merlin, Uther knew that he would have lost Arthur months earlier.

He had guessed the truth when Arthur's life was saved from the poison of the Questing Beast. He didn't want to look too closely at the miracle then. Hadn't wanted to recognise the thrum of magic, nor think too deeply about the 'tincture' Gaius miraculously produced. Hadn't wanted to think too hard regarding the manservant's absence and sudden presence again when he helped Gaius feed Arthur the—antidote…

Uther's own manservant had told him that he overheard Morgana's handmaiden worrying about Merlin's mother's sudden appearance and her illness. Not a day later, first Gaius and then Merlin disappeared. And both returned nearly two days later, soaked to the skin and looking quite worse for wear.

Something of import had taken place, on that Uther was willing to stake his crown. But nothing else had been said. Nothing else came from those puzzling days. Arthur's manservant suddenly became almost a model servant, dutifully taking care of all his master's needs and attentively nursing his son through the lingering weakness.

A sorcerer… But the boy was an idiot. Uther just couldn't wrap his mind around the idea that—Merlin—could be dangerous. And yet—

'Burnt to a crisp.' Sir Kay was not a man given to exaggeration. An entire barbarian war camp of over fifty men… This boy killed—slaughtered an entire camp—and saved Arthur. Again.

He remembered his son lying on his bed, expression strained, his countenance bloodied and bruised, wearing clothes that were not his own. Arthur had denied any mistreatment of his person, but his refusal to allow Gaius to attend him was damning enough.

Uther was under no illusions that he could have mounted a rescue so quickly. Merlin—because he had refused to await the investigation of his master's delayed return, had gone looking for his Prince. If he had not… Uther knew the boy clearly spared Arthur from further abuse. And Arthur would accept comfort and assistance from no one else.

Uther was not an ungrateful man. "You will say nothing of what you and the other men found."

"Sire?"

"There was a service done to your Prince that day. We are not ungrateful."

"Of course, Sire." As much as Sir Kay tried to hide it, Uther could see that the Knight had brightened considerably at his words.

Uther wondered why he wasn't angrier. Surely, this exchange implied that the knights were quite observant. That Arthur's manservant may not have been secretive enough and even his own knights wanted to protect the boy from the King's wrath. Uther had known that the knights started to show a bit of deference to Arthur's manservant after the incident with Mercia, when Merlin drank from a poisoned chalice for Arthur. It seemed to Uther that the boy was regarded almost fondly; like a pet or a mascot of the knights of Camelot.

But were the actions of the knights truly treasonous when Arthur's manservant was so clearly devoted and loyal to his master; when he, like many if not all of Arthur's knights, would give his life to ensure the Prince's continued health and survival? If Uther was to be honest about it, he could—understand why the knights might choose to protect the sorcerer in their midst, especially if this would preserve the life of their Prince.

Uther couldn't feel any heat in himself to be angry with Merlin. He just found himself bewildered. He still couldn't get over how Arthur's manservant knowingly drank poison for him. The boy was an idiot. It really was a wonder that he had survived this long in Camelot when the King actively persecuted and killed all magic users.

*~*~*

The realisation that he was knowingly harbouring and accepting a sorcerer in his castle, did not allow Uther a restful night. He found himself climbing the stairs to the battlements hoping that a little stargazing might help him settle the roiling thoughts that kept him awake. The last thing Uther expected was to see the source of his disquiet huddled against a wall. And… Uther was quite shocked to recognise the quiet sounds of crying.

He remembered then the sight of the boy's face of late, his expression of sombre and blank nothingness. Unusual because Arthur's manservant was quite well known to be a cheerful lad, and a strange one who would even have smiles for his tormenters when he landed in the stocks.

Then a memory of Gaius' words came to him. "Merlin is no warrior. He's never been trained to kill and to cope with the aftermath."

This made Uther remember Sir Kay's report. "Every man and boy lay dead, burnt to a crisp."

An entire barbarian war camp—slaughtered. Yet Uther could not feel afraid of this wretched figure huddled against the walls.

Letting out a resigned sigh, Uther walked over to the boy and sat beside him. Merlin didn't react to his presence, evidently oblivious to his surroundings. Truly, the boy's survival instincts were abysmal.

Eventually, Merlin realised he was not alone and startled quite violently when he saw it was the King sitting beside him. "My Lord."

"Stay." Uther's hand on his shoulder kept Merlin from standing.

For a time, they sat in almost companionable silence as Merlin self-consciously wiped his face clean of tears. "It is never easy to choose to take a life." Uther started softly. "Most times it boils down to choosing one goal above another; one life for another; the lives of several in exchange for the safety of the whole Kingdom.

"Several lives—for the life of your Prince…"

He left it at that. If Merlin wanted to talk—Uther thought he owed that much to the boy, especially since he obviously hadn't spoken to Gaius or Arthur.

"I—didn't know he was still alive when I found the camp. I—I just saw the—bodies and—the heads on pikes." Merlin said softly at last.

"You struck in anger and fear." Uther nodded in understanding when he saw the boy flinch. "That does not make you a monster."

"I—" Merlin stared up at him in surprise.

"You did your Kingdom a service in dealing with these barbarians, boy. They had looted, killed and raped across our neighbour's lands for nearly a year before they came to ours. Before—before Arthur—encountered them."

"You don't understand—I—I killed them all! Even the boys. And when I first found Arthur, I had wished I had—that I had done so more painfully. I—"

Uther grabbed Merlin's hand to stay his words. He could feel the bile rising in his throat as he remembered how his son had looked when they first returned. He remembered the strange clothes his son had returned in; remembered the horror he had felt to know that his son had been stripped naked by the barbarians. He remembered noticing the blood on his son's breeches... Uther knew he would not have been merciful if any of the barbarians had survived Merlin's slaughter. The boy, however—

"You would not have taken satisfaction or entertainment from torture, Merlin." Uther told him firmly. "I think even I know you well enough to say this.

"The real monsters are the ones you killed. They deserve no more thoughts than the Questing Beast you helped Arthur to slay."

Merlin's eyes went very wide in sudden fear, but Uther's firm grip kept him in place. "I am not ungrateful, Merlin. And I am neither blind nor arrogant enough to ignore the service you have given my family.

"You have always protected my son."

Merlin nodded numbly at his words, allowing Uther to continue. "Given a choice, you will continue to do so. And you will kill for him again."

Uther expected the flinch at the word 'kill', but Merlin simply gave a slow nod after he thought about his statement. "Y—yes. If it was to save Arthur—if he asked me to, I would—I would kill as many men as—as I did that day in his service."

"And more." The boy paled at his words, but he still nodded as his gaze met Uther's letting the King see the flicker of realisation and acceptance in the sorcerer's eyes.

"What you did using your—powers, Merlin, was not immoral. Your—magic did not make you evil." Uther told him solemnly, as he too realised this was a fact he now recognised and acknowledged too.

"I know my son enough that I had that barbarian camp investigated. I've seen the bodies that Sir Kay recovered. Whether the mutilation and abuse was inflicted alive or dead... They were the monsters.

"You are nothing like them. You protect your Prince out of love."

"Your Majesty…"

"Arthur—needs you to be strong—for him. Not filled with doubts or insecurities," Uther told him firmly. "He will not accept help from any other…"

"I would walk to the ends of the earth for him."

"Then do so—with my blessing."

"Your Majesty…"

Uther studied Merlin's gaze for a beat before he released his hands. "Go on then. Take care of my son."

Merlin scrambled back on his feet to leave. However, Uther had one last bit of parting advice.

"Merlin, the law—" For a moment, Uther squeezed his eyes shut in pain in memory of his lost love. "In time, I'm sure Arthur will repeal it. I can—will not. What was done…"

"N—Nimueh's dead." Uther looked up at Merlin in shock. "I—she—I—traded her life—for Arthur's."

Uther shuddered as he looked away. "But even her death does not change the past, nor ease the—betrayal."

"Sire…"

"Keep the magic secret, Merlin."

"I—Y—yes, Sire."

Usher looked out over the battlements as the sound of footsteps faded behind him. 'Sorcerer…' the fury laden cry in his mind resounded again. But it did not overwhelm his senses and judgement as it used to in the past. No, Uther knew he could not react in such a way to Arthur's manservant. Not when the boy clearly feared himself more than anyone would ever fear him. Whatever could be said of Merlin, he always meant well. And he cared for others far more than he cared for himself.

Uther could see—could tell that the boy was important to Arthur, and that he would be his son's strength when his own ability might fail him. Perhaps Arthur would be able to make work what Uther had himself tried and utterly turned his back on with Nimueh's betrayal; to embrace and work together with magic to enforce peace and prosperity to their kingdom. At the least, Uther thought he had the assurance that Merlin showed far more loyalty and devotion to his son than he had ever received from the sorceress.

Arthur's manservant—the boy made Uther wonder how he might have fared if, at that time long past, he had given his trust to Gaius instead of Nimueh.

~end~

Thanks for reading. Cheers, firewolf


	2. The Path of Healing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Through an unexpected opportunity, Gaius can at last lend Arthur assistance on his journey to heal.

"Gaius? Have you seen Merlin?"

The Court Physician looked up at his doorway where the annoyed prince stood glaring into his abode. It was a rare occasion that the Prince's shadow spent any time away from his master since that fateful rescue. However…

"I believe it was you who demanded he quit your sight for the rest of the day, Sire?" He raised an enquiring eyebrow at Arthur, remembering Merlin's sad and distress filled countenance at his dismissal.

"But I—" Arthur protested looking quite shamefaced. "I—didn't really mean he should make himself—that is—I wasn't supposed to not be able to—find him…" The Prince trailed off a bit resentfully.

Gaius sighed as he beckoned the man to enter and pointed towards Merlin's door. "You can wait for him, I sent him out to replenish my herb stock some time ago. I expect he will be back within the hour." As the physician had guessed, Arthur accepted his invitation to disappear into Merlin's room to await his manservant.

In the weeks and months which followed Arthur's return and convalescence after his ordeal, it had become a distressful observation by Uther and Arthur both that Arthur's confidence and security had appeared to become dependent on Merlin's proximity. Uther had spoken to Gaius about it. If the King who was infrequently in direct contact with his heir noticed, Uther felt that Arthur's knights would be equally observant. Arthur had realised this, and it had made him a difficult man for Merlin to deal with in the last few weeks. But there was naught a thing to be done about the situation.

Gaius had proudly observed the infinite patience Merlin showed his Prince through the difficult period. The boy understood without being told that it was still too soon after the attack. That since he was instrumental in taking Arthur out of the dire situation, Arthur strongly associated his manservant with safety and security. And that until Arthur regained his own sense of self worth and confidence he would remain dependant on Merlin.

After his talk with Gaius, Uther had understood the difficulty and sensitivity of the situation, and he truly tried to be supportive. However, all could painfully see that Arthur seldom looked his father in the eye anymore. And the lower servants had begun to speak softly of the Prince's increasing demands for baths at least twice day again. Merlin, once more, also became the only servant who could calmly deal with Arthur's at times extreme mood swings from relatively 'normal' relaxed nobility to sudden depression or fury.

Being allowed to retake responsibility of the Knight's training had helped somewhat to temper Arthur's depression. However, his Knights came to visit Gaius disproportionately more often than they ever did before. None dared to complain about the Prince's new frenzy in making sure they were prepared and competent though. They understood that their Prince was just expressing his concerns and fears for their ability in his pace of training.

None would forget the wagon of bodies Sir Kay and his squad had returned with. The men who handled the dead noticed that the bodies of the younger men in Arthur's party had shown heavier signs of mutilation and abuse. No one had yet dared to ask the Prince if they had suffered this before or after death.

There had been death and injury among the knights and guards in the past. It was a part of life as a defender of Camelot. However, what was done to the Prince and his party by the barbarians hit most much more personally and with greater impact than any other brush with death. For that reason, the Knights did not begrudge their Prince's new intensified training program.

Still, Gaius knew Arthur was not healing. He knew more than anyone else that the boy needed to talk to someone about his ordeal. He understood Merlin had already spoken with Uther. The King made Gaius aware of this talk himself when he confronted the physician about his knowledge of Merlin's true nature.

If asked, Gaius would maintain that he thought his Liege had quite cruelly kept him on the edge for way too long with his accusations of betrayal and treason before he finally allowed Gaius to know he was forgiven for keeping this secret. In shock, Gaius had spluttering called Uther an utter prat for terrifying him so badly. But at its end, the confrontation brought them a few cherished moments of memory of a time long in the past.

"He means well." Gaius remembered telling Uther cautiously after their mirth had pattered down.

The King had shaken his head at him then. "I am not ungrateful for his efforts. But seriously, Gaius? Merlin? Merlin? I've so often worried for Arthur's manservant being mentally afflicted and he—? Merlin?"

"He does have an unhealthy affection for the stocks." Gaius had to allow.

"Exactly! But what he did to that encampment…?" Uther's eyes had looked bewildered as he gazed at Gaius. "He also told me he killed Nimueh…"

Gaius had flushed at that statement. "I was unconscious then, but I was there."

Uther gave him a glare which Gaius correctly read as annoyance for his not imparting the knowledge of her demise to his King. Gaius just raised an eyebrow in challenge as if to ask how Uther might have expected him to slip a bit of news like that to his Leige. The King studied it for a moment before he accepted the ridiculousness of the situation. After all an 'Oh, and by the way, Nimueh's dead' was hardly something which could be casually dropped into a conversation without a lot of pointed and dangerous questions.

"So he's—an entire encampment, Gaius, he took out an entire encampment. Yet he—still seems perfectly content to be my son's manservant." Uther slumped into Gaius' chair with these words. "I—spoke to him last night, and—I truly believe he was afraid of himself; afraid of his own power."

"Sire—"

"I will not repeal the law, Gaius, I cannot." Uther had looked up at him with dead eyes. "But—as you said, he means well. And I am not unaware of his devotion and loyalty to my son. I am not ungrateful for the numerous times he has saved Arthur's or—mine too, I'm guessing?"

At Gaius' nod, Uther sighed in wonder. "To think… considering I'm the cause of the ban on magic, and he would still—my life…

"I have told him, Gaius, to keep the magic secret, and I will accept his continued presence in my court. Keep it secret, and I will not be forced to act… So long as his devotion and loyalty to my son stays intact, I will not act against him."

Gaius hadn't dared breath for a moment at his Liege's words. He waited expectantly since he knew Uther wasn't finished yet.

"Merlin…" Uther huffed again. His tone was full of disbelief. "It is just as well that he's—such an idiot. If I think of it—the boy did confess to me and the council that he was a sorcerer. Really, Gaius, has the boy has no sense of self preservation?"

"I will speak to him, Sire."

Uther sighed as he regarded him. "See that you do that. The boy needs a minder. I truly cannot understand how he's survived this long under my laws."

Gaius couldn't help but share a wry smile with his King then. "He cares far more for others than for himself."

"Yes—yes, I can see that."

It wasn't until several hours after Uther left that Gaius realised they hadn't spoken about the talk between Merlin and the King. However, as Merlin had since begun to lighten up again and was apparently 'recovering' from his traumatic experience, Gaius left it at that.

Unfortunately, it appeared that Arthur in sharp contrast had reached an impasse in his own recovery. Gaius could see it in Merlin's tired countenance that the prince's nightmares had returned with a vengeance. He could see it too with the subtle hints from the injured knights that the Prince's troubled sleep were affecting the intensity of their training days.

Morgana had started taking Arthur out on long walks where Merlin and Gwen would set out a picnic and tried to encourage the Prince to relax and nap under their watch. Alas, that did not appear to help Arthur steal any greater rest than he was able to achieve at night.

Lost in his thoughts, Gaius almost missed hearing the soft cry coming from Merlin's room. The sound of Merlin's name called out with heart wrenching despair caught his attention again, making him hurry to the room. He found the Prince sprawled across Merlin's bed, trashing about, obviously trapped in a nightmare and getting himself entangled in the thin blankets.

"Sire? Arthur? Wake up!" Gaius shook the Prince's arm urgently as he knelt by his side. "Sire!"

Arthur woke with a start, Merlin's name caught his throat. When he turned to look at him, Gaius gently reminded him of where they were. "You're in Merlin's room, Sire. He's all right." Gaius told the younger man soothingly as he helped him to sit up on the small bed. "Merlin's only out picking herbs for me."

"Gaius?"

"Yes, Sire?"

"Merlin's—?"

"We are in Camelot, Sire. He is safe here." And after his talk with Uther, Gaius knew this to really be true now. Uther knew Merlin was magic, but was closing an eye to the knowledge of his true nature. The boy was not in any danger of being burnt at the stake or executed as long as he was vigilant and careful with his powers.

Arthur shuddered as he looked down for a moment, seemingly unable to meet Gaius' eyes. Gaius sighed inwardly. Though he had avoided making any demands upon his distressed Prince, he knew that Arthur needed help. He needed to talk to someone regarding what had happened and not silently torment himself over the experience alone.

"Would you like to talk about it?"

"Gaius…"

"It will help, you know? To talk sometimes…" Gaius told him softly as he carefully took one of Arthur's hands in his. "As a physician, I follow a code of confidentiality with my patients, Sire." Gaius took the chair in Merlin's room, keeping a comfortable and safe distance, yet staying close.

Arthur stayed silent for a moment, obviously considering Gaius' words before he finally decided to speak. "I keep—remembering that time I first woke up in the barbarian camp."

Gaius stayed silent and encouraging. He barely breathed, afraid that Arthur might change his mind and decide to remain silent; much like he had tried to in his refusal to acknowledge his father's expressed concern, though they were all fully aware that it was all polite fiction.

"Gaius. I—I—" Arthur looked up at him with eyes full of misery. "That first time—they killed my knights and squires in front of me one—one by one while—while the barbarian leader—while he rutted me on—on my own surcoat.

"It hurt, Gaius. It hurt so bad, and I couldn't get away—they kept—they butchered my men in front of me. I was their liege. I was supposed to lead and protect them, and—their last sight was—was of despair. It was of me—helpless and being—being—used for their pleasure."

Gaius' tightened his grip on Arthur's hand in support. Hearing Arthur's words now… As much as he knew Arthur needed to finally voice and share the tale of his terrible ordeal to begin to release its hold on his life, Gaius was still torn with the desire not to hear and know of the horror the young man had lived through.

When the bodies were returned, he had been there to help the families of the knights and squires killed. Gaius had seen the bodies and so he knew how each and every man and boy was killed. And now he knew that his Prince—the poor boy had witnessed their death while being brutally raped.

"Oh God, Gaius… It—didn't even end with—with the last death." Arthur had well broken into tears now. "I was—he grabbed me and I—I—came, Gaius. I spilled my seed over the barbarian's hand even as he filled me with his pleasure."

Arthur shuddered again, looking down, unable to meet the physician's eyes. "Gaius—I don't understand—I—I liked—"

"Rubbish!" Gaius refused to let the boy continue this grossly misplaced guilt. "You were cruelly violated and your men were murdered before you. You took no pleasure from it. I cannot believe you would even claim to."

"But Gaius? I—"

Gaius reached over and pinched Arthur on the arm. "Ow! Gaius? What—?" The unexpected action startled Arthur from his misery.

"Was that painful?"

Arthur released Gaius' hand to reach for the injured spot. "Of course it bloody—"

"Could you have told yourself that it was asked for?" Gaius interrupted him ruthlessly.

"What? I never asked to be pinched. Why—?"

"You never asked to be raped either.' Gaius told him firmly. "The body can easily betray a man no matter what he thinks he wants. You can no more tell your body to ignore pain when you are physically harmed than you can ignore pleasure when the body receives the right kind of stimulation."

Arthur froze at Gaius' words, The Prince blinked at him in shock, his mouth opening and closing in surprise and disbelief.

Gaius sighed as he pulled on Arthur's arm, bidding him to follow him back to his workshop. "Do you recall the class I gave you on human anatomy?"

The unexpected question made Arthur frown in puzzlement as he dutifully followed Gaius into his workshop. "Yes? I use that knowledge frequently, especially when I train my knights on where to aim to disable or kill an enemy."

"And…" Gaius gave him a quirky smile. "Do you recall that little 'talk' we had when you were fourteen?"

"Gaius!" Arthur flushed bright red and his hands flew up immediately to cover his eyes. "I thought we agreed never to mention it again?! You and my father—I'll have you know it was traumatising!"

Gaius chuckled as he reached for a roll of scrolls and started to unroll them. The sound of rustling parchment made Arthur curious enough to peek at him between his fingers. However, the physician had his Prince blushing again when he extracted the illustration he was looking for.

"Well, pay attention lad. Here's another bit of knowledge I wish to impart on you which I hadn't spent much time on back then."

"Gaius…"

"Sit." Gaius pushed Arthur onto a seat and laid the drawing down on the table before him. "There—is a gland in the male body which I never talked to you about back then." Gaius told him solemnly as he pointed to the cross sectional diagram he normally used when speaking to his much older patients who had difficulty with their urinary tract.

"It resides here." He made sure Arthur's eyes followed his finger on the illustration. "And when stimulated in a correct way, it will cause arousal no matter what the patient's mind wants or desires."

Gaius gave Arthur a significant look and a kind smile. "You cannot believe that you took any pleasure in the suffering or death of those you are responsible for, Arthur. No one—*no one* would ever believe that of you."

"I—I've been dreaming that Merlin was there—that he was killed while I—"

"You would take no pleasure from Merlin's torture or death." Gaius interrupted him firmly. "Your body was tricked, Arthur. You did not take pleasure from your violation and you did not welcome their touch."

Arthur stared into Gaius' confident eyes for a long while before he looked down to study the illustration placed on the table in front of him. To Gaius' relief, he could feel the atmosphere of guilt and misery slowly dissipating around the Prince, making him believe that he didn't need to say anymore. He hoped it was enough.

"Hello? Were you looking for me, Arthur?" Merlin appeared at the door with a basket laden with herbs.

Arthur's head shot up to stare at him then. The drawing he had been studying quietly rolling up unnoticed while he came to his feet. "Mer-lin, truly you are the worst manservant ever! When I said I wanted to be left alone, I didn't expect you to obey me so thoroughly that you disappeared on me? You never listen to me any other time, why did you do that now?"

The expression on Merlin's face was priceless. The Prince had not so much as breathed a note of their usual teasing and banter for months. To have it return so abruptly…

"I'm sorry, m'Lord. Was clairvoyance supposed to be one of my skills now?" Merlin responded with his 'usual' tone though rather cautiously.

"Skills? Do you really possess any?" Arthur smirked at him.

Merlin gave them a thoughtful look as he smiled mischievously. "Why of course I have many excellent skills. The one foremost among them is picking up after the castle prat."

Arthur let out an unexpected bark of laughter before he scowled at his disrespectful manservant. "The castle pra—Why you—?" He started to stalk towards Merlin with intent.

"Bye, Gaius!" Merlin dropped the basket of herbs inside the workshop before beating a hasty retreat.

"Come back here! Merlin! I'm sure you're not supposed to run from your Prince!"

"I'm not?"Merlin laughed back. "But you're always complaining that I have no sense of self preservation."

"I'm going to catch you!"Arthur roared after him.

Gaius didn't doubt that, especially since Merlin was heading in the direction of the Prince's rooms. Gaius rather thought the two young men would end up in a pillow fight in Arthur's chambers. He had faith in Merlin's ability to lighten the Prince's mood, and his skill in returning the smile to Arthur's face more regularly now.

Evidence of this appeared during the feast later that week, when Merlin solemnly wore his ceremonial clothes with the ridiculous hat without a word of complaint. Gaius saw that Uther noticed the amused smirk Arthur would give his manservant whenever the Prince's eyes fell on him.

The two older men shared more than one relieved look during the feast. While they knew Arthur's journey of healing was far from over, this moment gave them confidence that the Prince would eventually recover from his ordeal. And they knew too that Merlin would ever be by his Prince's side to help protect him with the fullness of his ability.

~end~

Thanks for reading. Cheers, firewolf


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